Home Preparations for long durations emergencies

Have a written plan & supply lists.

Starting with the basic home preparations, we
lengthen
their affective time frame. Primarily this
involves additional supplies and equipment. Home preparedness involves
backups for food, water, shelter,
heat, health and sanitation. To be effective for a 'long' time
frame, these fixes and replacements will need to be durable or in
somewhat large quantity.
What we do is neither extreme nor does it
require us to go far out of our way, nor are these things that we never
use. Rather, ...well, Hannah gives here a good picture of what I mean.
Read on.

Home preparedness.
by Hannah

Home preparedness is a key theme in our lives; it's so
practical and
makes so many things easier. Keeping the house clean makes us prepared
for unexpected company who happens to drop by on an hour's notice. A
well stocked pantry makes us prepared for the next storm warning;
prepared so that we can stay home and read a fun book with the kids
instead of picking over bare grocery shelves and standing in the
checkout line for hours with everyone else who is unprepared. Of
course, in some cases we may not be able to get more supplies due
to flooding, a blizzard or something
else.

How will you get water without electricity?

With electrical outages on the rise all across the country and
surrounding communities experiencing rolling brownouts, blackouts and
full-fledged outages lasting in duration from 1-3 weeks, we will all
start looking more seriously at what it takes to become prepared. What
would normally be an exasperatingly difficult and trying experience can
turn into a fun adventure for the prepared person. That reminds me of
two stories. The first is about some friends of ours. When their water
pump failed, this happy four person family had a miserable two
weeks with no water. Before the well was fixed, the boys had concluded
that it was time to sell that bad house and get a new one.
The other story took place about a year later when the electric pump in
our well died. With the opening of two valves and an occasional 15
minute stint at the hand pump, our lives continued as normal. We kids
thought it was pretty exciting to get to pump water
for a couple of weeks while we waited for our new pump.

Waste water removal

Another example of preparedness took place in August of 2005
when
our septic system gave out. At the ripe old age of nearly 40 years, the
septic system under our lower garden had finally come to its
end. As we were in the middle of gardening, we were not willing to dig
it
up for a month. But, with a determination to 'survive', we
quickly made the necessary adjustments. Five gallon
buckets under the sinks worked as water collectors, which had to be
emptied regularly, especially since we were in the middle of gardening
and food preservation season. (Yes, more than once the buckets under
the kitchen sink over flowed, oops!) Using very little soap enabled us
to water our gardens and fruit trees with our dish and laundry water.
A portable toilet was brought in for convenience and we took our
showers at a camp (outdoor shower houses are a novel change).

Replacing our septic system

Was it
easy? It was not
easy like turning on the faucet and having the water run down the drain
like it should, but then it wasn't hard like not being able to wash any
dishes or having to do laundry for eleven people at the Laundromat for
two and a half months! We made numerous changes in our lives. Why?
Because we were committed to doing what it took to survive. Eleven
people with no septic system is a challenge; the key is to minimize the
stress and inconvenience so that life can continue. Two and a half
months later when everything was back up and running, life was easier.
But then it really wasn't all that hard before because of the choices
we made. On top of that it was a great reminder to thank and praise God
for all the conveniences we have in our lives.

Wringer washer by
Sarah

Wringer washers Use minimal water & electricity

One of our prayer targets for 1999 was a wringer washer. We
were
preparing for the potential problems at Y2K and asked God to provide
one for us, which He graciously did. Y2K never amounted to any
difficulty for us but our wringer washer has been invaluable on other
occasions. Doing laundry can be a big chore for a family of our size
under normal circumstances, but when our washing machine broke it
became an all day occupation. Dad showed Hannah and me how to operate
the wringer washer and we set to work. The washer itself uses a small
amount of electricity, which, in this case was no problem, but if
electricity went out we would need a generator to operate it. But the
biggest savings when power goes down is that the wringer only
uses a fraction of the water that the automatic uses. Once the clothes
were washed each piece was fed through the wringer into a tub that Dad had plumbed into the basement drains.

Laundry plunger - no electricity required!

Here we rinsed them in clean water, using a laundry plunger to speed up
the
process. With the lid on the washer to keep the now clean clothes from
falling into the soapy water we fed the clothes through the wringer
back the way they had come and piled them in the laundry basket.
Together we hauled the basket out to the clothes line and hung out the
load. Of course, that was only the first batch. By the time we were
done we were rather damp and quite tired from working with all that wet
laundry. We were glad when Dad was able to get the other machine
working again. Imagine having to do it all on a washboard!

Wood stove by
Julia

Wood stove with oven

In the fall we use our wood stove to heat our house. This
pushes
back the time when we must turn our heat on. Dad lights a fire in the
stove early in the morning when it is particularly cold, this heats the
whole house up. In the winter we use it on really frigid mornings. If
you have a flat topped stove you can cook on it. (Some stoves are
made especially for cooking.) In our old house,
where we heated exclusively with wood, the stove had an oven and a
system whereby we heated water. Some of the older children remember
once cooking a turkey for Thanksgiving on it. This was a particularly
big stove which worked very well for making heat and we cooked on it
regularly.

Fresh batteries - a must!

Conclusion

Home preparedness doesn't have to be extreme or radical. No
one
should start with the huge, scary and somewhat unlikely 'what ifs'. To
the contrary preparedness is a mindset, a way of life. Starting with
the basics, like keeping a small pantry
stocked, the house clean and some flashlights on hand for the normal
storm-caused electrical outages, is where we should all begin. After
you have discovered how helpful and stress relieving these simple
preparations really are, you will want to
consider the next step. Wouldn't it
make things easier if you could continue using a washing machine? And
what about a kerosene lamp to
facilitate normal evening activities and a happy atmosphere with it's
cheerful light? Actually, having these home preparations does deal with
some scary 'what ifs'. What if there were an influenza
pandemic
and your town were quarantined? Well, you would be prepared! If a
specific threat concerns you, you can add a few specific items for it. These
home preparations should help with the basics. Preparedness improves
our survivability, but it is also the convenient way of life. It
doesn't
have to be hard or expensive. It can be a lot of fun.

The Preparations
by Craig & Nathanael

On top of our basic preparations,
we
will primarily be adding supplies and equipment to
lengthen
our survival time. Of course it will be necessary to know how to
use the equipment. This necessitates a little practice. The best
equipment is of little value if you don't know how to use it. Personally I have found equipped.com to have some very helpful suggestions, from someone with much more experience than I have.

Electricity

Water power - but how do I use it?

If we could provide a generator large enough, most of
our problems are immediately solved. That is, solved for as long as we
can keep it going. While a nice idea, generating the amount of
electricity we use is quite unfeasible for most people. This is not to
say that you won't be able to provide a small amount of electricity to
run small items, but we won't be able to depend
exclusively on most
generators. Also, electricity won't
provide food, medicine or any other supplies. Gas, diesel
and propane generators are the most common but are limited by
the amount of fuel you can store. Other alternative
generators include solar, water, and wind powered generators, which
although having unlimited fuel can be very expensive to set up and very
limited in where they can go. These
latter will usually require battery banks, an inverter, etc,
in addition to installation costs. One thing you should consider is how
conspicuous your generator will be when no one else has one. Being
conspicuous isn't exactly the safest in a prolonged emergency. If you
do have some sort of generator you will need to decide which things to
run off of it and for which you will provide a non-electrical
backup.

Some thoughts on generator use in emergencies.

A generator
will only run as long as it has fuel.
Additional
fuel may not be available.

Gasoline tends to gum up over time. Thus, unless
your unit
is
operated regularly (every few months) and your fuel supply is fresh,
your generator may not run. Propane powered generators do not have this
limitation.

Consider: if you are the only person around running a
generator, you will draw attention to yourself.

In a sever emergency, your generator, or your fuel may be
stolen by other desperate people.

Test whatever you have. Do you have more than one
freezer/refrigerator? Can your generator run all of them at the same
time? What about your water pump? Try it out before an emergency. Will
the noise of the generator drive you crazy? Do you have appropriate
extension cords?

Be able to check freezer interior temperature without
opening the door (and letting warm air in).

Re-chill freezers every second or third day. If your
freezer has good insulation and gasket, and is left closed, it
shouldn't need
to run every day.

Shelter

Learn the skill you will need.

For shelter we need to have the supplies and tools on hand to
repair
damage to our house. It is imperative to keep water out of the house
and in, cold weather, keep the heat in. Maintenance when electricity is
down and
no more supplies are available will be more difficult so we want to
keep some things on hand. When considering severe
weather, we do not know what damage our home will receive. Hurricanes,
tornadoes, earthquakes and hail can all result in major damage
which must be repaired. If the damage is too great, some other shelter
must be found or built. Either way constructions skills, tools and
supplies may prove very valuable.

Most important supplies: Plywood for covering windows (with
screens) and tarp for covering roof

Heat

Wood heats us several times - when we prepare it & when we use it.

Nearly all heating systems require electricity. To survive for
a long period of time, we really need a heat source not dependent on
electricity. If your home does not allow for wood heat this may be
difficult, but you may want to consider buying a wood stove or wood
furnace. Just make sure it will work without electricity. Also consider
what it will need for a chimney. Don't let your fuel supply get too
low. Keep your woodshed full. Keep your fuel tanks full (and
fresh as in the case of gasoline). If you depend on a chainsaw, keep
plenty of consumables (chain, oil, files, etc.). You might even want a
second saw.Making your home energy efficient will help both
now and in an
emergency with fuel savings. An Alternative appliances for heat
might include kerosene heaters.

Water

Modern hand water pump.

Clean water is another basic necessity, which is vulnerable.
We have
an electric water pump in our well. As the water level in our well is
only 12 ft lower than the basement floor, we are able to use a hand
pump which was plumbed into our basement plumbing. (Note: water can only
be lifted by vacuum approximately 20 feet. Thus, if you have a well
with the water level lower than 20 feet down, this method will not
work for you.)

If you are on a public water system, hopefully they will have
back-up systems to keep it going. If you cannot use your
well or don't
have one, you can store
some water, however, eventually you will need to carry water from a
spring or
brook. If you can get water close at hand you may be able to haul it in
buckets. Bringing water a distance may be made easier with a cart or
wagon. Whether you use stream water or have unpotable tap water, you
will need to
consider water filtration and purification. Consider how much water you
may need to
filter and thus how many filters you will need. For purification you
can use chlorine or look into the other options. Pure water is
extremely important in an emergency when you really can't afford to get
sick.

Health

Basic home health skills are imperative.

Concerning health, you may want to re-evaluate what skills you
have
and any you want to add because, you may not be able to get
professional medical assistance. Beyond that, you may want to collect
additional medical supplies of the kind you use. We use herbs. We
already try to take care of most of our medical needs, so the only
change
for us was to keep sufficient herbs on hand to last for an extended
period of time. Remember, in an emergency you will want what is normal
for you, so prepare accordingly. If you are interested in improving
your medical
self-sufficiency, I would recommend starting with good health. For some really helpful information on how to
keep from getting sick in the first place, go to ImmuneBoostPlus.com. This site also has some articles on medical preparedness for specific emergencies and other issues.

Sanitation is very important from the health perspective. If you
have a
septic system it will hopefully continue working. Maintaining it in
good working order prior to an emergency will take care of the majority
of this need. Of course sanitation requires water, which I mention
above. For laundry Sarah has already mentioned our wringer washer and
laundry plunger. Of course you will want supplies of soap and other
consumable
hygiene products.

Food

Keep a well stocked pantry.

One last basic I'll cover here is food. While most of us could
survive quite well with significantly less food than we eat now, this
is still an essential. Dry goods like grains, dried foods, and canned
goods will store a long time if they are kept dry. Naturally this will
require a large pantry, which must of course be stocked in advance.
Hannah has mentioned some benefits of storing food on her
page about food preservation. Naturally the food in the pantry should
be rotated. We use up the older food on a regular basis, continually
replacing it. Although starting a pantry had its costs, now that we
have it, we spend much less on food than before, because we can
buy at bulk discounts. Freezers and refrigerators require a
large amount of electricity. Even if you are able to run them for a
short time with a generator, that will be a relatively short time. Of
course
you will want to use fresh and frozen food items first. It is
easier to preserve many types of food by freezing than by other methods
but you may want to increase the amount of drying and canning you do
because they store without electricity. Alternative appliances for
cooking include a BBQ grill, wood stove, and propane camp stove.

So, we have added equipment and supplies to help us survive
during
longer emergencies. Seeing how useful they are at decreasing the
inconvenience of short term emergencies is also an incentive to improve
them. There
will always be more improvements we can make to these preparations.
Putting too much time and energy into this will unbalance
other
areas of life; that's why we stick to the basics.